Chapter 7 Not Your Bestfriend

• Sierra’s Pov
• It was Brandon.
• It had to be.
• Because his mother had never hidden the fact that she didn't think I was appropriate for her only child, but he’d approached me anyway.
• “And you think Brandon hurt you? You do not even realize the kind of game you’re in.”
• My voice cracked.
• “Why are you doing this?”
• Vanessa blinked as if my question confused her.
• “Doing what? Telling you the truth? But you always said you hated lies. You realize that it is funny, isn't it? The media didn't even realize you were gone last night. Until security footage at the Blackwood club leaked.”
• I gasped and the air cleared from my lungs.
• Goodness. Had she sent someone after me? Did they…
• “Oh and guess what?” she continued, as she stepped closer with a smirk on her lips that I wanted to wipe off. “That video shows you walking into one of the suites with a man who wasn't Brandon.”
• I stood, rooted to the spot, unable to move as my chest tingled and warmth crept into my face.
• I wanted to go far away from here…but where?
• “What?!” I managed to exclaim. “You’re having me trailed now?”
• “I must say that I did not think you had it in you, Sierra. To sleep around like a common slut. If I didn't know better, I’d say you were trying to make a scandal of your own. After my engagement, of course.”
• “You do not get to talk to me about the truth,” I yelled, the words spilled out of my mouth, before I could call them back. “You lied to me for months. You smiled in my face while…”
• Vanessa laughed.
• “You must understand that difficult times call for urgent measures, my darling. Brandon picked me, get over it.”
• Every word Vanessa managed to say was like a blade cutting into my heart . My shoulders slumped and my knees became weakened. I wanted to move, but I couldn't.
• “What more could you possibly want Vanessa?” I asked as I forced my chin upright. “ You have Brandon now, why not focus on him?”
• Vanessa’s smile vanished. Just as I knew it would.
• Her little performance had clearly already gone over the top, and I was sick of it.
• “I want you to stay gone.”
• I raised a brow.
• “I do not understand.”
• “There you go as always, pretending to be ignorant. You’re not welcome there anymore. Brandon and every member of his family approve of me. The Carrs are cleaning house, along with every minor inconvenience. And that includes you, so stay away.”
• I gritted my teeth and felt bile rise again in my throat, but I managed to choke it down.
• I wanted to throw something, to scream at her, to make her feel even a fraction of my pain, and this betrayal. But instead I stood, and wished for the ground to open up and swallow me instead.
• “You talk as if I’m over there practically begging for him to take me back.”
• “And you talk as if you're innocent, Sierra. When all you’ve done since Brandon dumped your sorry ass has been to go round, moping, with you trying to seduce your way into other people's lives. It makes me sick!”
• I gasped.
• Not the pot calling me black. What could be worse than what she’d done?
• “You think I care about what you think of me after what you’ve done?” I said, letting my tone match the venom in hers.
• “Do you enjoy all of this?” I continued, “Standing here and mocking someone else’s life while you feel yours is safe and polished?”
• Vanessa hissed before she turned her head in my direction for the first time as if she was considering me. But her perfume did not spare me. It hit my nose and wrapped around my senses until I felt like I was going to pass out.
• “Oh Sierra,” she said in her sing-song voice that I now hated. “It’s not about enjoyment. It’s about facts. You made choices darling. Choices that proved…messy. And you are only just reaping the consequences."
• I staggered backwards and fought back the tears that threatened to spill at the truth of her words.
• Perhaps all of this hurt and pain that I felt was all my fault.
• Maybe if I were half as clever as she was, I could’ve avoided this. But it was too late.
• “There, do not take what I’ve said to heart,” she whispered with a wave of her hand.
• “Not when you’ve taken everything from me, Vanessa. Every single thing.”
• She stared at me and I could see her lips tremble for the first time.
• “I didn't take anything that wasn't already promised.”
• I tried saying something, anything. But the words refused to come.
• She raised her chin as if she were mocking me.
• “I’ll have you know Sierra, that calculative people like myself, do not make such mistakes, it is common knowledge. Something you’d know if you had a mother.”
• The world went still.
• A slap sounded on her cheeks before I even realized that it was my hand that had moved.
• There was a deafening silence as Vanessa touched her cheek, and her eyes grew wide.
• “I guess we’re even now,” she whispered before she turned and walked out.
• Her annoying heels sounded until the door shut.
• And I stood there, shaking.
• Violet reached for me again.
• “Sierra, breathe. Hey…look at me. Breathe.”
• But I couldn't.
• Not when the room felt too small, and Vanessa seemed to have taken all the air with her.
• “Tell me you know that she’s lying,” Violet said. “She’s trying to get into your head. It's what she does. You know it right?”
• I wanted to tell Violet, yes.
• But my lips refused to cooperate, the words wouldn't come.
• My pulse began to sound wildly in my ears, and my chest became so tight that it became too difficult to breathe.
• “Air…there’s no air…” I gasped.
• I pushed past her, into the hallway, unsure of where I was going.
• Violet hurried after me.
• “Get help, Violet…now…”
• “No…Sierra,” Violet grabbed my wrists.
• Then everything went blank.
• That was the last time I saw Vanessa Grant.
• Until nine months later when the nurses screamed, “ Push, Sierra!”